I have been very lucky my whole life. Fortunate to be surrounded by amazing people, lucky to experience so many wonderful places. I grew up in South Dakota and one of my favorite memories is of hitch-hiking with my friend up into the Black Hills and getting dropped off at U.S. Forest Service two-track and simply wandering off into the magnificent wildness. A couple times throwing down a sleeping bag on the forest floor and spending the night. From there, I’ve dedicated myself to land conservation and to the connection between people and the land. I married a man and had two brilliant, beautiful daughters and together we took our wandering into the wider world. A good place to rest is our house on Church Street in Romeo, especially on our little front screen porch sharing coffee or some beers. We lost my husband Sherman in 2021, and our family’s Green Space on Prospect Street pledge is in his honor.
To me, “This Place Matters” is a radical political statement. It means that a piece of land is more than something to be bought and sold, that our place on this earth is not merely transactional. We remember the lives that have been lived and enriched or suffered there. We advocate for the people who have been shut out from the land by broken treaties, redlining or poverty. With Green Space on Prospect Street, it means we can build a future that welcomes everyone, that nurtures the next generation and that builds our community’s resilience to climate change. But why stop there? Let’s build a community network of public parks and green spaces, greener school yards, as well as rain gardens and native landscapes on private land. I know this is possible because of the powerful inspiration that comes from all of you who have embraced Green Space on Prospect Street.
